All the real girls
by LetsHitTheMadness.xo
Summary: When her best friends sister returns home from boarding school to their small town, local Romeo Santana finds that she is falling for her. Despite Brittany's innocence and her brother's disapproval they find themselves in an all-consuming love.
1. Chapter 1

**A.N.** _First off I want to acknowledge that I have previously uploaded this story last year; however I lost all my work when my laptop crashed and burned and I sort of gave up on the story and writing in general. This was the first piece of fan fiction I have ever written and to this date has still not been finished. Hence why I am re-uploading this now with an ending in sight. I've re-written almost every chapter and I hope you enjoy it. _

_Any name referenced in_ **bold **_is to let you know who's 'pov' it's in._

_Any characters used do not belong to me and the plot twist is inspired by the film of the same title; All the real girls. _

* * *

**Santana. **

I watched as the boys messed around in the lake. This was our hideout. The only fucking place in Lima where we could come as a group and just hang out for a while, without feeling as though we were being judged. We were just a bunch of useless fucks who worked for the local garage because we ruined our chances to make something of ourselves.

I laughed along as Finn tried his best to tackle Sam in the water. At one point we all thought Finn was actually going to make it out of this shitty town. He was even considered one of the most athletic boys on the field when it came to football. However, right before one of the biggest games, the one which would have scored him a ticket straight out of Lima, that chick Berry which he was dating broke his heart. Turned out, her and her father's just woke up one morning and made their way to New York. She left him here without as much as an explanation or goodbye. He refused to play that night, the team lost and the rest is history.

Sam caught me watching as he dived out of the way of Finn again and smiled. Sam never went to high school with the rest of us. We met Sam at the fair one summer about 3 years ago. Sam and I dated for a while after that and he tagged along with the little group I call my friends. We didn't last long together as a couple but he remained a very good friend to both me and the rest of the gang. Both his mother and his little sister were sick. Very sick. He chose to stay at home and take care of them after his father left for the city in order to find some employment so he could pay for his family. His mother's illness only got worse and after a long time of suffering she died last year. They said she had a heart attack through the night and passed away in her sleep, that there was nothing more they could have done. After that his father moved back home to be with his family, meaning he lost his job. They may not own much but the love he has with his father and sister allow them to manage.

I took one last drag of the cigar in my hands, savouring the bitter taste which it left in my mouth, before dumping it. I sat up from my position on the banking of the Lake and debated on whether or not I should join the two boys. Noah failed to show up this morning and as much as I love the two idiots I can only spend so much time with them on my own, so I decided to wait out here on the banking for Noah to turn up instead.

Noah Puckerman considered himself the leader of this shitty group. Throughout our lives we had what was considered an odd relationship. It started as best friends when we were young. He was my first kiss when we turned 13 and eventually my first a year after. We thought we could make something work between us, until we reached high school. Despite the constant promises to stay faithful to each other we both continued sleeping with the entire population of WMHS. We broke it off when I realized my preference for the ladies in our senior year. After that things were rocky for a short while, but after my father left my mother and I when I came out to them we made up. He was always there for me. Always had my back. We were best friends. Always had been and as much as the boy infuriated me, I hoped we always would be.

Now, however, it's midday and the sun is casting this fucking horrendous heat all over Lima. It makes it impossible to do anything other than lie around or bathe in water, hence why we decided to spend our day at the Lake. Giving up on waiting for Noah to appear I removed my shirt from my body, cringing at the sight of the sweat which was making my skin glisten. Stupid, fucking heat. Just as I'd finished removing my shorts and had started to place the clothing in my bag a voice caught my attention.

"Looking hot Lopez," Noah smirked, walking towards the old rug which we'd laid out earlier.

"Fuck off Puckerman," I growled, turning my back to him.

"The fuck's wrong with you today?" He questioned, grabbing my wrist and turning me around to face him.

"What's wrong with me, oh, I don't know, how about the fact that you choose the hottest day of the fucking year to disappear off the face of the earth without so much as a text to let us know where you were," I stated, pulling my arm from his grip , "I waited on you out here for fucking three hours, that was three hours you left me alone with those two idiots you bastard" I growled, making sure that he knew I was pissed. After a few seconds of silence I caught his eyes roaming over me and folded both arms over my chest, regretting the fact I'd chosen to wear one of the most revealing bikini's I owned, "and quit your leering perv, you know I'm fucking gay."

"Doesn't hurt to look," He shrugged, "Go on, get in the water, but make it quick, we're going to that café that Quinn works at in ten."

"Are we fuck," I growled, glaring straight at him. "She fucking hates my ass and you know it!"

As I turned towards the water I heard him shout after me, "I don't give a fuck, that's your problem, I'm hungry and that's the closest place to here."

* * *

I trailed behind the three boys as they made their way along the back road to the small café on the edge of town. Being the only girl in the group often meant having to put up with all of their childish ways. For a group of 22 year old males they were nowhere near being classed as mature. Not that I was any better. Usually I'd join in with whatever topic they were discussing but the heat had gotten to my head so I was content just to hang back and listen to their conversation.

"Don't beat yourself up man, don't let it get the better of you" Finn replied to Sam, who was moaning about how shitty life had been recently. "Look at life this way, I think it's called the butterfly principle, which is basically if a bird flaps it's wings in Africa, it causes an apple to fall, which causes a chain reaction of a painting to be made of the falling apple, somebody looks at the painting, forgets they gotta pick their mom up at church, runs a red light and gets charged $80. You know, all because a bird flaps it's wings in Sambuca which is over 600 miles away."

We all stopped to stare at Finn, letting a few seconds of silence commence whilst we tried to make sense of what the boy had just said. Finn wasn't the smartest of people, but for some absurd reason we could all relate to what he had just said. We could all twist the words to mean something which fitted each of our lives.

"So in other words," Noah continues, looking straight at Sam. "Life's always gonna be shit."

This only made the silence worse and just as the silence was becoming unbearable Sam looked back at Finn and commented: "Isn't Sambuca a drink?"

"Maybe" Finn replied, as Noah turned and began walking away again, chuckling to himself. After that we continued walking, making small talk about everything. Again I chose to hang back, content just listening.

"Hey, did you all hear about Artie Abram's?" Sam asked.

"No," Finn replied, his face showing his curiosity.

"He got into that car accident," Sam stated.

"The one where the guy cracked his ass off the steering wheel, before going through the front window?" Noah asked, stopping as he faced Sam.

"Are you kidding me?" Finn asked, unsure whether or not to believe what he was hearing.

"Yeah, that one, the boy snapped his whole god damned neck in half," Sam stated, turning to face the other two boys.

"Oh god," Finn said, his face visibly paling.

"They say he's gonna be paralysed and put in a wheelchair for the rest of his life," Noah commented, turning back to look right at me.

"I've never known anybody in a wheelchair before," Finn said, a new tone of wonder in his voice.

From behind them I scoffed, looking straight at Noah before commenting, "man, that dude's a dumbass, and we all know he's a shit driver."

Noah turned his face away from me when he heard the venom in my voice, god knows he knows how much I hated the boy Abrams. As far as I was concerned he had got what was coming to him.

* * *

We reached the Café and thankfully luck was on my side for when we entered the old building Quinn decided it was time for her to take a break. We sat down at a small table in the corner of the building and Noah gestured for a small brunette waitress to come over.

"Come on girl, help me out here?" Finn said, turning towards me, almost pleading. "You know Spanish better than any of us."

Both he and Sam were discussing something about the Spanish language, I don't know, I wasn't really listening.

"Well, I mean, you know... Just because I'm Latina does not mean I speak fluent Spanish. That's.. Look, I've been to school, that's the last and only time I ever spoke the bloody language, that's about it dude, I'm not supposed to know all the words in the dictionary from it." I scoffed, resting back in my seat and trying to avoid the conversation.

"Don't you have a Spanish cousin?" Sam asked, turning his gaze towards me.

"I know that albóndiga is meatball soup," Finn said seriously, looking at us both, "and, uh, dios is..."

Noticing that Finn was struggling for words I decided to chime in: "Mujer is woman."

"Moo-hair?" Both Sam and Finn said at the same time, confusion laced through their voices.

"I don't think so, girl." Finn says, shaking his head at the thought.

"M-u-j-e-r." I growl, spelling it our for them.

"Are you sure, 'cause I think señorita is woman." Finn says, turning towards Sam for back up.

"Yeah San, Finn's right." Sam states, only to be interrupted by the young waitress who came towards our table.

We ordered our food and generally had a good time in each other's company, despite Finn being a complete idiot most of the time, it was oddly fun. After about an hour we decided it was best that we each made our way back to our respective homes.

"Uh, guys, before you go," Noah said, looking straight at us all as we exited the café and started walking down the back road, "My sisters just come back to town.."

"What, the blonde one who went to boarding school?" Finn interrupted.

"Dude, I only have one fucking sister," Noah spat, "but yes, the school years over, she'll be here until September, then she's moving to New York to become a writer."

"That's great bro, but what's that got to do with us?" Sam questioned, looking at me to see if I knew anything. I just shrugged in response.

"Look mom's throwing her a welcome home party tomorrow night at our place, it'll be a BBQ outdoors, Mom's invited the whole fucking town as she doesn't know a lot of folk round here, so I'd appreciate it if you guys came along," Noah said, his tone becoming serious, "party starts at 7.30pm sharp, make sure you're all wearing something decent and Finn, if I catch you so much as looking at my sister in the wrong way you won't have your nuts by the end of the night, got it."

Finn cringed and turned a deep shade of beetroot as he watched Noah walk away and Sam just stood and laughed at the boy's reaction.

"Looks like I'll be seeing you both tomorrow," Sam said, a grin gracing his features, "I'll come pick you up at 7 tomorrow San."

I nodded at the boy, grimacing at the thought of having to spend a whole night in the company of half the town. It's not that I don't like social contact; it's just that almost everybody in this fucking town hates me. This usually means that I end up spending the whole night by myself watching as Sam and Finn try and get off with any girl who so much as looks in their direction. Not that their failed attempts don't amuse me, but after a while it gets a little boring, which usually results in me drinking an unhealthy amount of whisky with Noah and calling Quinn, which never ends well. With a small sigh I say goodbye to Sam and Finn and make my way back to the run-down apartment I share with my mother. Fuck, tomorrow is going to be such a long, shitty night.

* * *

I dragged my ass out of bed around about midday. The sun was out again and the heat was just as fucking bad. Groaning I made my way out to the back lawn and lay down on the grass, closing my eyes and just basked in the heat. Tonight was not something which I was remotely looking forward to. Having to spend hours with everyone in this town. Quinn would probably be there as well if Noah's mom had put together the invite list. Hours passed and before I knew it mom had come home from work, shouting that she had something for me in the kitchen.

Sighing, I got up from my position out back and took my time wandering into the house. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mom. It's just, sometimes she can be a bit too much to handle. When I walked through the door I found her sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs back and forth, dressed in that ridiculous clown outfit which she considered amusing.

My mother was a professional clown. I know what you're thinking, but she volunteers at the local hospital, going down there three times a week to cheer up and distract all of the younger, sick patients. I respect her for it; it's not something which I think I could ever do. She's experienced so many young children losing their lives, it's a wonder she's still so happy all of the time. Although, she could really do with losing the outfit... and the face paint.

"Look what I bought on my way home from work," She sang, hopping off of the counter and making her way over to me, swinging the bag in front of my face and grinning from ear to ear.

I took the bag from her hands and emptied out its contents. Inside had been a beautiful pair of deep red heels which practically screamed sex. They must have cost a fucking fortune.

"Mom, how much did these cost?" I ask, looking at her.

"Oh, don't worry about that love, it was just a small fortune, plus, they match that dress you looked out for tonight."

"Mom," I sighed, dropping the shoes back into the bag and looking at her seriously.

Since my dad had left us we'd been struggling for money. My father was a surgeon; he made the most income whilst mom spent her days down at the hospital. After he left we lost our old house and had to move into this crummy house which used to belong to my grandmother.

"Santana," my mother warned, searching deep into my eyes. "What kind of parent would I be if I didn't treat my daughter once in a while, now go put them away for later and start smiling, you'd think I'd just handed you a dead puppy with a face like that."

"Whatever," I shrugged, knowing she was right. "Do me a favour though, take that make up off of your face, you look ridiculous."

She laughed, leaned in to brush her bright red nose against the side of my cheek in an attempt to rub some of it off onto my face and then took off for the bathroom. I walked to my room and dumped the god damned shoe's down beside my outfit for tonight.

* * *

"How was your day?" I asked mom over dinner.

"Oh, it wasn't bad, one little boy was sick all over Miss P, much to her disliking," mom chuckled.

"I bet she loved that, did she freak out?" I smirked. Miss P was the most annoying person in all of Lima, since Berry left. She had a raging case of OCD and decided the best job in the world would be becoming a children's nurse, dealing with all the mess a young child makes throughout their stay in the hospital. This often meant that she was highly intolerable which made situations like this much more enjoyable for mother and I.

"Of course she did, the poor boy was devastated. We had to sit him down and explain to him that he hadn't really done anything wrong." Mom replied, a sad smile gracing her features.

Silence took over the meal for a while, both of us just content to sit in the silence and enjoy the food.

"I noticed that Sam's sister wasn't in the ward today, she doing ok?" Mom asked, standing up from the table and clearing her plate.

"I don't know, Sam's never mentioned anything." I say, shrugging my shoulders, suddenly losing my appetite. I had always been fond of Sam's little sister, she was the sweetest little girl I'd ever met.

"San," my mom said, walking towards me and resting a hand on my shoulder. "Just because she wasn't in today doesn't mean that something bad has happened. She may have even felt a little better."

"Yeah," I mumbled, pushing away from her grasp and walking towards the door, "I'm going to start getting ready, shout to me if you see Sam pull up."

* * *

"Santana, honey, Sam's here." My mother shouted from her position in the front room.

Taking one last look at myself I smirked. Noah had said to look decent and I'd sure as hell made an effort. I walked into the front room and embraced my mother, promising that I wouldn't get too drunk or arrive home too late. I walked to Sam's truck which I noticed was loaded with beer bottles.

"You look nice," Sam said, starting the truck and turning to face the road. "Feel free to take a bottle, there for us."

"Thanks," I muttered, reaching behind me to grab a bottle and taking the cap off with my teeth. "I didn't realise we had to bring our own?"

"We didn't, I just thought, since I didn't know how much Noah's mom would provide, at least this way there's enough for us to get drunk off of if we want too." Sam said, never taking his eyes off of the road.

I laughed a little at his logic and leaned back in the passengers seat enjoying the soft hum of music coming through the speakers of Sam's truck. I turned to face out of the window knowing that we had a good ten minute drive until we'd reach Noah's. Most of the ride after that was spent in silence with Sam attempting to make small talk every now and then.

"You alright, you're a little quiet?" Sam asked as we turned the last corner, nearing Noah's.

"Mom said that Stacy wasn't in the ward today?" I stated, turning to look at his face.

Sam managed to get a space directly in front of Noah's and grabbed the bottles from the back.

"And?" he questioned, his voice never faltered.

"Just wondered if there was something wrong which you weren't telling us, that's all" I snapped, climbing out of the truck and slamming the door closed.

"Look," Sam said, following me out of the truck and grabbing my hand before I could storm away from him. "It's nothing that you need to know right this moment, lets.. lets just enjoy tonight ok."

I nodded and took a couple of bottles from him, knowing that there was no point in arguing any further. It didn't look like I was going to have many friends to keep me company tonight and I was in no mood to decrease that number of people any further.

"You know she's going to die eventually though, right?" Sam whispered, turning away from me and walking towards the house.

* * *

By half eight the party was in full swing. Noah was taking charge of the barbecue and the food, Noah's mom was making her way around all the adults present, some of which I recognised as member of the Puckerman family and some of which I knew to be neighbours. Finn was currently on the make shift dance floor "grooving" to some shitty song which was being blasted full volume, trying to catch a red headed girl's eye. Not that he was doing much good for himself. The boy couldn't dance for shit. Sam was by the table which was holding all the drinks chatting to a group of people our age which I recognised from town but never bothered to ever acknowledge.

I spent my time sitting on the logs by the fire, humming along to the poor excuse of music which was being played and allowing my body to consume as much alcohol as it desired. I spotted Quinn sitting on the rug farther down the lawn with a group of girls I recognised as old students from WMHS. She must have felt me staring at her as she turned around, meeting my eyes for a short second before sending me her best bitch glare and turning her focus to the girl next to her, purposely resting a hand on the girl's thigh.

Sighing I knocked back another bottle and threw it to the ground before resuming my position of people watching. That's when I noticed her. The blonde haired, blue eyed teenager staring at me from the dance floor. She was wearing dark denim jeans and one of Noah's shirts. Ridiculous really considering the weather we'd been suffering recently. We held each other's gaze for what felt like hours but was only really a matter of minutes before I ducked my head.

I knew this blonde. She was Noah's sister, Brittany. Last time I'd saw her she was seven years old and I was eleven. I thought she was just some stupid little girl. Then before we all knew it she was shipped off to some dance academy for children before going on to boarding school. Fuck had she changed. No longer the little girl but a mature and fucking gorgeous young woman.

"Hey, mind if I join you?" Brittany asked her voice soft and her eyes glowing.

"Sure," I smiled, moving over on the log to make room for us both to get seated.

"I'm Brittany and you're Noah's friend, right? The one that kicked dirt in my face when I was six," She states, grinning at me. Her eyes never leaving my face.

"Yeah," I chuckle, looking at her properly for the first time, noticing the colour of her eyes. They were ocean blue, a very beautiful ocean blue, almost the same as Noah's. "Sorry about that by the way, I was a wicked child."

She laughs and I swear I've never heard anything so angelic.

"So, you're back from boarding school right?" I ask, shifting on the log so that I can face her.

* * *

We conversed for hours, just the two of us sat by the fire on the old log. She tells me about her time at boarding school and her plans for college in September. For once I listen to every detail of the conversation. There's something about her voice which is captivating. I listen as she tells me about the difficulties of having to share a dorm with snobby rich kids who think they're better just because their "daddy can afford to send them away to proper schooling." She tells me about her best friend Kurt and how she swears he's going to famous one day. She tells me about her interests and I learn that she could spend forever talking about dancing. I learn that sometimes she wonders if she has what it takes to become a dancer. I learn that she loves country music, although she'd deny ever saying that if I told anybody else.

In return I tell her about my mom and the work she does at the local hospital. I tell her about my job working down at the garage which Finns step-dad owns. I tell her about my time at WMHS and entertain her with stories of the bitches which I met. I tell her about my own interests and confide that sometimes I wish I'd graduated and had what it takes to go off and make my own music. I tell her that my favourite genre of music is also country or jazz before confirming that if she told anyone that I'd also deny it, which makes her laugh. I tell her what her brothers been up to whilst she's been out of town.

I find that I enjoy Brittany's company more than I thought I would. I guess that I spend so much time with the guys and my mom that I'd forgotten how good it felt to have a proper conversation with another girl. I sneak her a beer from Sam's collection when I'm positive that both Noah and their mom isn't looking and simply enjoy her company and when she smiles at me, the light from the fire reflecting in her eyes I'm suddenly glad that I came tonight.

The song that was playing comes to an end and the intro to whatever is coming on next is slowly starting to blast through the yard. She squeals suddenly and her eye's light up even more, a bright smile gracing her face.

"I LOVE this song," she explains, bouncing up and down on the log a couple of times before humming and swaying along to the beat.

"What is it?" I ask, knowing I haven't heard of it.

"Are you kidding me?" she almost shouts, disbelief covering her face, "It's called Edge of Glory, by Lady Gaga?"

"Nope, never heard it." I shake my head, "Thought you loved country?"

"You're knowledge of good music is appalling," she states, shaking her head at me and laughing, still swaying along to the beat. "and I do, but this one's catchy, plus the girls in the dorm would play it all the time, begins to grow on you quickly."

I smile at her logic and watch her dance for a moment longer.

"You should go dance," I comment, gesturing towards her swaying.

"By myself, yeah right." She laughs before her eyes suddenly develop a new spark in them, "dance with me?"

It's a command, not really a question. I glance around and notice that Noah's still busy serving the numerous amount of guests food. I notice Sam still standing conversing with the group of people whose names I never bothered to learn. I notice that Finn's no longer on the dance floor and instead has managed to sneak off with some brunette who looks as though they're still in high school. I notice that Quinn's still focused on the girls whom she's sitting with. Brittany's still looking at me, her eyes staring straight into my own, ocean blue meeting chocolate brown and that smile is still plastered all over her face. There was no way I could say no to her looking at me like this.

"I can't dance," I manage to blurt out as Brittany stands, holding out her hand for me to take.

"Of course you can," she laughs, shaking her head. "Everyone can dance, plus you'll have me there, I won't let you look stupid."

Glancing at Noah one last time and discovering that he's still busy I relent, setting my drink down and laughing at myself as I almost fall over my own feet upon standing up. I realise I've drunk more than I originally thought I had and try to make my way graciously to where Brittany is standing, her hand outstretched.

* * *

**Brittany**

Growing up I was always told that home was "where the heart is." I suppose that's what got me through eight years of private education away from home. It wasn't easy. It was never really set up to be though I suppose. Unlike the other kids I was chosen to attend the academy through a scholarship due to the fact that the dance teacher happened to attend one of my recitals when I was younger and was "very impressed" with my performance, whereas they had had to go through numerous years of studying in order to pass the high standard exams to even get the chance to attend. Unless you were lucky enough to be related to someone who earned enough to buy your way into the education system.

I suppose that was the reason why the majority of the students disliked me. They'd either worked their entire lives to get into a school like this or they owned so much land that their expectations of people were unrealistically high as well. They just brushed me off as some stupid little girl who only got in due to the fact that she was 'underprivileged.' It's not like I minded much, it turns out that spending most days by yourself means you can actually focus on studying more which ultimately produces good results when it comes to the end of year exams.

Now however, school was over and I was back home. Back with my family. Back with my mother who kept wrapping me up in hugs and continually showered me with affection right from the moment I stepped off the plane on my return to Lima. Back to my brother who tried to act as though he didn't care but I could see the pride and adoration in his eyes every time we spoke on the car ride home. Yes, it was definitely good to be back home.

The first thing I done was spent some time in my room. Nothing had changed since I was last here, the walls were still that sickly yellow colour I used to love as a child, the carpet was still cream. Nobody had taken down the posters of all the Disney princesses which I was obsessed with as a child. My books were still aligned in alphabetical order of the author on my bookshelf. Even the clothes I last had on before I had flew back out last summer were still strewn across the floor.

I removed the clothes and started to unpack the basic necessities which I would be needing over the next few days. Things like my toothbrush, hairbrush, perfume. I sorted through my washing before leaving the rest of my bag for later.

Lying on my bed I closed my eyes and embraced the comforting smell which was that which resembled home. Mom had told me that she had invited a few of the neighbours and our family round to celebrate my coming home and graduating. I'd smiled at her due to the fact that I didn't have the heart to tell her that I just wanted to spend the night in with her and Noah, cuddled up in the living area watching crappy tv shows. The type of things you learn to miss whilst you're away from home for so long. Knowing that there was no way I was going to get out of this party I decided to do the next best thing to cuddling on the sofa. I grabbed a pair of my mom's old jeans and tied a belt around them to keep them upright before grabbing one of Noah's shirts and shoving it on. Sure I would probably overheat but at least I felt like home.

* * *

Dinner passed reasonably quick and before I knew it people had begun turning up to the house for my party. Mom had done a great job setting up the lawn to make room for everyone. She'd laid out rugs and old blankets on the grass and set up a fire with a few logs around it. Noah had a barbeque going and was busy preparing a ton of food for everyone. They'd managed to set up a few tables near the door to the house which currently held the drink. They'd set up the speakers that Noah had gotten for his birthday not that long ago and were blaring music at an illegal volume. They'd even cleared out the back of the lawn to make what I'm sure was supposed to resemble a dance floor. It was pretty awesome.

By about eight thirty in the evening the whole lawn was packed with people. Some of whom were family and were more than excited to see me. Some, I recognised from my old dance class when I was younger who were pleased at the chance to catch up with me. Others I knew as neighbours from our area, the type of people you always see in passing but hardly talk to. However, some people I assumed had heard about the bash from Noah as I had no recollection of who they were and so just guessed that they'd came for the chance to get pissed.

My cousin Emily eventually managed to drag me up to the makeshift dance floor to dance. It was nice for a while, until everybody started to join us and the area became cramped. One girl, a blonde with an insane amount of attitude crashed completely into Emily whilst we were dancing resulting in a minor scene being caused. After that we settled for standing off to the side and began chatting. She told me all of what my uncle had been up to whilst I was gone and even shared some interesting stories about Noah. I was starting to have a pretty good time with Emily when something caught my eye.

A Latina girl was sat by herself near the fire, divulging her way through bottles of alcohol. I figured that she must have been waiting for someone to reappear and so I watched her actions from afar for a short while, completely intrigued by her. After about ten minutes I came to the conclusion that she wasn't waiting on anybody to return and was simply here by herself.

I excused myself from Emily, telling her that I had to go and talk to some of the others who I had just noticed had arrived and wandered over to the other side of the dance area to get a better look at the girl.

From my new position I could see her more clearly. She had dark flowing hair and tan skin. Almost the colour of caramel. She was frowning into her bottle, trying her hardest to avoid the death glare that were being sent her way from the blonde girl whom I recognised as being the one to crash into Emily. I tried to converse with those around me so as not to make it too obvious that I was outright staring at this girl.

Her eyes darted around the lawn. For a moment they stopped on my brother, watching him contently as he continued to serve the numerous people food which he had made. She then turned her glance to my mom, smiling as she watched her make her way around the various members of my family, chatting enthusiastically. She soon turned her attention to the giant boy not too far from me who was currently flailing his arms and legs about on the dance floor. I can only assume that he thought he was dancing. She then looked towards a blonde boy by the drinks area who was deep in conversation with people who I assumed were Noah's friends and I didn't recognise any of them. She carefully, almost skilfully, avoided the glare that was again sent her way by the blonde before casting her eyes onto my brother once more. She watched him for a little while longer and it was then that I realised who this girl was.

When I was six, Noah came home from school one day overly excited, exclaiming that he had made a new friend and that they were going to be best friends forever. Nobody took him serious at first as he went through friends quicker than he went through shoes. However, after a few months we began to realise that this friend was here to stay and more importantly, she was a girl. She started spending more time at our house and before long the two were inseparable. You would never find one without the other. The following year another boy joined their little crew and I thought that she might start to play with me more, now that my brother had friends which were boys. One day when she was over I noticed that Noah and his new friend were ignoring her whilst they played some stupid ball game. Trying to be nice I had asked her if she wanted to share my dolls with me or perhaps we could practise some dance routines but she just ignored me. When I asked again she told me I was just a silly girl and laughed at me before running away to try and join the two boys.

After that incident I'd always avoided the girl. Last time I saw her was when I was ten before I jetted off for the first time to my new home at the big private school. Looking at her again now, I could see the resemblance to that fiery young girl I'd always known her as. Her skin still looked as smooth, the only difference was that the colour had gotten a little lighter. Meanwhile her hair had grown out, no longer the short shoulder length bob it once used to be. Now I noted that she'd grown it out long so that it stopped about the middle of her back, settling in a variation of waves. She must have noticed me staring then as her eyes connected with mine for a moment. Her eyes were still the same chocolate brown colour that they'd always been. I'd always found them lovely, not just because I like the colour but because even as a young girl her eyes had always shown so much more emotion that she let show on her face.

Something about her kept me drawn to her. I mean she looks gorgeous in that one shouldered red top and those black high waisted denim shorts with a stunning pair of red heels to match. It was more than that though. It was her attitude, the way she was tensed up as though something bad was about to happen. Her eyes glazed over although they were still staring in my direction and I took this as a cue to make my way over to her. When I got closer I realised that she had let her mind wander somewhere else. Reaching out I let my hand fall onto her shoulder.

"Hey, mind if a join you?" I asked in my gentlest tone, trying not to startle her.

"Sure," she smiled back at me, moving around on the log in a somewhat flustered manner until there was eventually space for the both of us to sit.

"I'm Brittany," I introduced, trying to dull the nerves that were building up in my stomach out of fear that I would make an idiot of myself, "and your Noah's friend, right? The one that kicked dirt in my face when I was six?"

I'm such an idiot. Why the hell would I say something like that. Stupid Brittany. Stupid!

"Yeah," she laughs, which I assume is a good sign. "Sorry about that by the way, I was a wicked child."

She smirks as she says that and I can't help but laugh. It was so true. Her and Noah would always be getting into trouble as young children.

"So you're back from boarding school right?" she asks, visibly relaxing and shifting on the log so that she's facing me and I take this as my cue to start talking.

* * *

We converse then for what feels like the whole night. Just the two of us sat by the fire under the stars. Every time she smiles or laughs the glow from the fire reflects in her eyes and I can feel my tummy doing little flips. I've never felt this way before. She asks me questions about my time at boarding school and she listens to everything I tell her. She laughs at my stories of all the girls I encountered throughout my time at the Academy and I swear its the sweetest sound I've ever heard. When the conversation begins to feel a bit one sided I ask her questions about herself and unlike the young latina who would reject even the slightest bit of contact with me, she openly accepts it. She answers everything I ask her readily with a grin on her face. I learn that her names Santana and that she lives with her mother on the other side of town. I learn that she's been openly gay since high school and that she works for the same garage that my brother works for. She informs me that she's still good friends with my brother and the giant that was dancing earlier whom I learn is the little boy that joined their crew shortly before I left. She introduces me to Sam and manages to sneak me a couple of alcoholic beverages when she's sure that my mom and brother aren't looking.

We're so busy talking that I almost miss it when the speakers start playing the intro to my new favourite song. I'm so excited by the fact that it's playing that I manage to squeal out loud. Smooth Brittany. Smooth. However I notice that Santana isn't laughing at me but instead smiling up at me.

"I LOVE this song!" I state, moving my body along with the rhythm.

"What is it?" She asks, her face showing what can only be described as a very concentrated look whilst she tries to figure it out.

"Are you kidding me?" I almost shout at her, genuinely shocked and at a loss for words that she hasn't heard of this before. When she looks at me curiously I realise that she really has no clue. "It's called Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga."

"Nope never heard of it," She says whilst shaking her head, she pauses for a moment then looks up at me smirking. "I thought you loved country?"

"You're knowledge of good music is appalling," I state, shaking my head dramatically at her before laughing, "and I do, but this one's catchy, plus the girls in the dorm would play it all the time, begins to grow on you quickly."

She smiles and watched me for a moment.

"You should go dance." She says, gesturing towards my body which is unconsciously swaying along to the rhythm on the log.

"By myself, yeah right." I laugh. I watch her for a moment before an idea hits me, "dance with me?"

In a matter of seconds her eyes convey so many emotions. First they show that she's shocked that I've asked her before immediately changing to one of happiness. Then they shift to something which I register as being uncomfortable. I notice that she glances around her surroundings quickly before looking back up into my eyes. I smile at her and try to plead with my eyes. Now that she's mentioned it I really want to dance to this song and we've been having such a good time together so far that I don't want it to end.

"I can't dance," She states, her face showing no emotions as she looks into my eyes. I reach out my hand for her to take and laugh.

"Of course you can," I say, shaking my head slightly and shoving my hand closer to her. "Everyone can dance, plus you'll have me there, I won't let you look stupid."

With one last glance towards Noah she relents and takes my hand, allowing me to drag her up onto the dance floor.

* * *

I had such a great night with Santana that night that I exchanged numbers with her and made her promise to call me sometime soon. I've now been home for over a month and have settled into a comfortable routine. I get up in the morning and do the chores around the house. After lunch I go out and visit Noah at work, although it's really just an excuse to see Santana again if I'm being honest. Sometime I take Sam's sister with me as I like to spend my afternoons hanging out with her. She's such a sweetheart and doesn't let being ill stop her from doing anything. I usually have dinner at home before making excuses about going out with a couple of the girls I knew from dance class. Really I head over to Santana's place where we'll hang out with Maribel, Santana's mom, for a while before going out walking somewhere.

Santana kept her promise and called me the next day and since then we've been meeting at least once every day. Most nights we walk to an old woodland where we sit underneath a tree and talk about anything and everything. I find it amazing that it's possible to talk with one person for hours on end without ever getting bored or running out of things to talk about. It's quiet there and it's some place where nobody will see us together. It's not that we like hiding it's just that Santana doesn't want my brother to feel uncomfortable. Although I don't know how he'd feel uncomfortable. It's not as if we're doing anything wrong. He knows and has excepted that I'm bisexual and Santana says he knows that she's gay so unless there's something which she isn't telling me then I don't see what the problem is.

Three weeks after the party and the continuous time that we spent together she admitted that she found me very attracted and I informed her about my own sexuality. We then spent the night discussing our feelings, admittedly this was something which I had to almost force her to do but it was worth it in the end. We now have some sort of odd relationship formed. We're more than friends and I've never felt this way around anyone before but I'm not sure if you'd be able to class it as a real relationship.

You see, Santana never fails to amaze me. She has a way of making me feel comfortable all the time. She doesn't ever bother that I'm four years younger than her, she claims that age is just a number. One thing I have noticed though is that she's hesitant. She wont hug me goodbye at nights and wont even hold my hand, let alone kiss me goodnight. Yes, I'll admit that I've never had a relationship before so I'm not entirely sure how this whole thing works but from what I've read and saw in the movies I'm pretty sure that there's supposed to be some level of intimacy. Especially when I'm as attracted to her as I am. It's just so frustrating when the most I can ever get out of her is for her to lock our pinkies together.

We sit by the tree for hours. It's a nice night and the weather is pretty good again. We're talking about our childhood when I suddenly get an idea. Above her on the tree I notice a patch of bark which has come undone slightly, making it possible to carve into. Grabbing a stone with a sharp end and with much pleading to Santana I eventually manage to carve both of our names into the trunk of the tree and date it. She smiles at me at takes a photo of the tree with our names newly carved into it before turning the device towards me and taking another photo. I laugh at her antics and turn towards the tree with my own phone to take my own picture. It's then that I notice the time and my mood suddenly deflates.

I hate this part the most. The part where I have to say goodbye to Santana and then act as though she doesn't even exist throughout the day. I take one quick, sneaky picture of Santana, setting it as my wallpaper before picking up my things from the floor and looking at the Latina.

"I should probably start heading back now, you coming?" I ask.

She nods and locks her pinkie with mines before we walk again. We always walk back to town in silence, simply enjoying the feel of being in the others company. We eventually reach the alley which acts as a short cut to get back to my place, and stop. We spend a few minutes just silently staring at each other with our pinkies interlocked.

"What're you doing?" She asks when I glance away, her stare becoming too much, her voice husky from the cigar she smoked by the tree.

"I'm just staring at that wall," I start, knowing that I sound stupid. I stop speaking then and she looks at me, her eyes full of concern. I take a deep breath in and then continue. "I'm looking at that wall and I'm wondering, why won't you kiss me."

The smile drops from her face and she looks at the ground for a moment. She looks back up, staring straight into my eyes and I can tell by the look in her eyes that she's searching for the right words to say.

"I... I wont..." she stutters, shaking her head and laughing at herself slightly, "I wont kiss you, because I'm scared that if Noah asks if I've kissed you, then I'll have to say yes."

I smile at her, letting her know that I understand. Getting an idea I unlock my pinkie from hers and move my hand closer to my stomach.

"Well, maybe you kiss me right here" I say, gesturing towards the inside of my thumb on my now free hand.

"What," She says, looking slightly amused at the idea, "Right there."

"Yeah," I nod back at her as she reaches out her hand and brushes her fingers over the smooth skin on the bottom of my thumb.

"Okay," She states.

She looks at me for a short moment before lifting my hand towards her face and slowly, so agonizingly slowly connects her lips to the skin on my hand. She stays like that for a moment, her eyes still locked with mines before pulling back slightly and smirking. It takes every fibre in me not to jump her right there. The second she lets go of my hand I step forward and take charge, cupping her face with my hands and looking into her eyes, taking in every emotion they show before pressing my lips onto hers for the first time.

* * *

**A.N. **_Well that's the first chapter. Newly re-written. _

_This is my first story and I really look forward to developing it and taking all the readers on Santana and Brittany's journey. _

_Thank you for taking the time to read this, any constructive criticism is welcomed. _


	2. Chapter 2

**A.N:** First off, thank you to everyone who read the first chapter of this, all the feedback, followers, favorites etc. is outstanding!

Here's chapter two. Hopefully it's not too bad.

Again, I don't own any of the characters etc.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Santana**

It was midday and like every other day this fucking summer the heat was bordering on becoming unbearable. It was only made worse by the fact that we had drag ourselves into work at Burt's garage, something which was torture in the heat. I'd managed to settle myself in the shade by the door to the garage where I set about at work. Since I wasn't fully qualified to work there Burt only allowed me to do minor jobs, such as fixing the small mechanics or helping organize the shop and file away anything that needed done. Meanwhile the three boys would all help Burt with the larger vehicles out front. It worked out well on days like this, as working in the heat was not something which I particularly enjoyed doing. Glancing out front I noticed that Finn and Sam were crowded around the front of a truck which was brought in the previous day, chatting animatedly. Noah was standing off to the side a little, watching the two with a smirk on his face.

I set about moving old tools back to where they belonged when I first heard the old truck pull up out by the front of the garage. I figured it would just be another customer looking for Burt and or one of the boys so I carried on with my lame routine of searching through labelled boxes and handling the old equipment.

"Sammy!" An excited voice boomed out, instantly catching my attention.

I stopped shuffling through the box on the table in front of me and walked closer to the door of the shop. From there I got a clearer view of the small blonde girl with her face pressed up against the truck window, shouting for her older brother. I laughed to myself as Sam looked away from the vehicle in front of him and hurried over towards the little girl, opening the truck door and scooping her out. I was so caught up in watching Sam react with his younger sister that I almost didn't notice the blonde beauty walking towards me.

Since the party Noah's family had held a few weeks back I just couldn't seem to spend enough time with Brittany. There was just something about her and how innocent she came across that made my insides melt every time she was near. It also helped that she was fucking gorgeous too. From that day on we'd spend almost every day together, hanging out by the lake at nights until we eventually found a clearing deeper into the woodland which we adopted as our own secret spot. She would often appear at my place and have dinner with my mom and I. It was nice for once to have another girl to hang around with. Even if I was having to watch how I reacted around her.

You see, I was starting to have a hard time controlling the way my body would react when I was with her. She was highly attractive and I sure as hell didn't want to over step my mark and ruin this new found friendship with the blonde. It also didn't help that she was Noah's baby sister and fuck, could that boy get protective when he wanted too.

As she approached the door to the shop she smiled and I couldn't help but smile back at her. Placing the old tools I still had firmly gripped in my hand on the bench near the door I turned to face her properly and allowed her access into the shop. She shivered slightly as the cool air from the fan which was blasting through the workshop to try and cool the place down made contact with her skin and I couldn't help but stare.

"What're you doing?" She asked me, approaching the bench and reaching out to lightly touch the mechanics I'd previously been holding.

"Oh, you know, just cleaning this place up a little, keeps me out of that horrendous heat." I smiled, gesturing around the shop. "What brings you down here?"

"Stacy wanted to see Sam before heading to the hospital," she explained, looking back outdoors towards Sam and Stacy who were running around the front lawn chasing each other, "plus, how could I pass up the opportunity to annoy you, hmm."

I laughed as she poked me in the side with her slender fingers as though to prove that she was here to simply annoy me. We stood side by side for a while and I listened to her talk as she filled me in on her day and what she had planned to do this afternoon. In return I showed her some more of the equipment and explained what they were and how to use them. The whole time she just smiled at me nodding her head and I couldn't help but smiling back. It wasn't until I could feel eyes boring into the back of my skull that I glanced around and saw Noah out front, trying to watch us subtly from his position on the lawn.

"Looks like you better get going," I said, gesturing towards Noah.

She sighed and glanced at the boy before turning and locking her eyes with mines.

"He wouldn't mind this, you know," she stated, never loosing her focus from my eyes, "He's the one who said he wanted me to make friends here."

"I know," I murmured, feeling slightly dejected at the word friends. "Still, you need to get Stacy back."

I turned my back away from her walked over towards the labeled box I was previously searching through. From my position I only just heard her whisper an almost silent: "yeah," before she turned and headed towards the door that lead back out to the front lawn. Just before she left the shop completely she stopped and turned to face me one last time before stating: "I'll see you tonight."

* * *

My mom had managed to score some tickets to a pretty decent local band that played just out of town and deciding that it wasn't her thing had passed them on to me. Naturally I refused to go but after Brittany found out about them I couldn't resist that pout that appeared on her face and agreed to go on the condition that she came along for the fun too.

The night had actually been pretty good. The band played some quality music which had everyone on their feet dancing. That was probably the best part. Dancing. Especially dancing with Brittany. It could be said that she was an amazing dancer, in fact she was the best dancer I had ever seen. It probably explained why her body was so toned. Even when I wasn't up dancing I was fully able to enjoy myself from the sidelines, watching whilst she swayed her body along to the rhythm.

Around about midnight I decided that it was time we started to head back and we settled for our usual long walks home together in silence. That was, until we reached the Ally that lead onto her street from where I would stand and watch in the shadows until I saw that she safely reached her door.

Upon arriving in the alley she stopped me and sat me down on some old container that had been left there. The air around us was humid and I was starting to feel uncomfortable from both the warmth making my clothes stick to my skin and our new found close proximity.

"San," she said, her voice ringing out in a gentle tone.

"Mhmm," I hummed, looking at her questioningly.

"I wanted to talk to you," she stated, looking down at our linked pinkies. "about us."

"Us," I managed to stutter out, feeling my throat go dry almost instantly. "What about us Brittany?"

"It's just, I," she paused and I could tell from her face that she was trying to chose her wording carefully. "What am I to you."

"You're my friend," I say firmly, though it sounds robotic, false. She looks down for a moment before locking her eyes with my own and suddenly I loose all hope of trying to maintain control of this conversation.

"Really, that's all," she whispers, intertwining her whole hand with my own. At this I quickly relax until I see the image of Noah in the back of my mind and then, almost as quickly as before I feel myself tense up again. She leans forward and asks: "can I tell you a secret?"

"Of course you can," I stammer, trying to look at anything but her eyes. With my permission she leans forward slowly and presses her lips close to my ear, so close that I can feel her warm breath reach my ears and the small hairs on the back of my neck.

"I think you're beautiful," she whispers. It's said so softly that if she wasn't so close I wouldn't of heard it. My breath hitches at the honesty in her voice and she pulls back to stare at me. It takes me a short moment to compose myself and when I do I suddenly forget all thoughts of Noah and concentrate solely on the blonde girl in front of me.

"You're rather beautiful yourself," I manage to reply, studying her face for a reaction. When she smiles at those words I find myself almost instantly smiling back at her.

"So, just your friend," she smirks, looking almost proud of herself. When I chuckle she takes it as permission to carry on talking, "I've never been in a real relationship before so I'll admit that I may suck at this whole thing, but I do know that I've never felt this way about anyone before."

Her tone is so sincere and so pure that I cant help but smile adoringly at her honesty.

"I want to be more than just your friend Santana," she says more firmly, looking back up into my eyes, "Even if it's just for a short while."

I take a moment to watch the blonde's face before taking in a deep breath and nodding my head.

"I think I could be up for that, so long as we keep it between us for a while, I'm not sure I could handle the whole town gossiping right now." I murmur softly, allowing my thumb to trace circles on the back of her hand. The smile I get in return is enough to make my heart melt and instantly I know that I've said the right thing.

"Good," she states, nodding her head and leaning forward to hug me quickly before standing up from the containers. "I really should get going, but I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

I nod my head quickly and smile, watching as she turns and makes her way through the alley and across the road. I continue to watch until I see her unlock the front door and make her way into her house. Once I'm positive that she's safe I turn back around and leave the other end of the alley, walking quickly towards my own house. It doesn't take me too long to walk home by myself and I quickly let myself in. Just as I'm locking my front door my phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out to check the message.

_I had a really lovely night, thank you for taking me. Sleep well San, I'll see you tomorrow, your new GIRLFRIEND, B. ;) xxx_

* * *

The boys had decided to hang out by the lake late Friday night and since I'd realized the only time I'd been spending with them recently was at work I decided it was for the best that I made an appearance. Of course I'd had Brittany round for dinner before I'd left which meant that I was running a little late.

When I eventually arrived at our spot on the banking I could see Noah and Sam standing by the fire. Noah looked pissed off as he focused all his attention on the fire. Sam was standing by his side throwing the occasional sticks into the flame and watching as they burned. When I reached the two boys I grabbed a beer from Sam and sat down at my usual spot by the fire Noah had made.

"Where's Finn?" I asked, looking at the two boys.

"Over by that tree taking a piss," Sam said, downing the last of his bottle.

"How fucking charming," I replied, throwing some loose twigs on the ground near me into the fire.

Right on cue Finn finished and stumbled over towards us, talking animatedly to himself about some fucking cat stuck up a tree. He was clearly fucking drunk. I could feel myself getting annoyed at the boy already and wondered why the fuck I'd even showed up. After what felt like forever of listening to Finn's rambling I'd had enough.

"Why're you all so quiet?" I asked, looking pointedly at Sam and Noah.

"Artie uh," Noah began, stopping his actions at the fire and turned to face me, "said he saw you hanging out with my little sister."

almost instantly I could feel the guilt rise up within me and I tried to focus on everything other than Noah's blank face. I wasn't one for lying. I'd never had to lie. I couldn't lie. Especially not to Noah. However I knew how much his family meant to him and something about the blank look on his face triggered a fear from inside of me. Noah watched my gaze uncomfortably and shook his head questioningly.

"So, are you two hanging out?" He asked again, firmer.

"Did he," I managed to blurt out, staring at the bottle in my hands before deciding that I couldn't lie to the boy who had been at my side through almost everything, "Well, so what if I have?"

"Well it's just, I cant talk to her about this kind of stuff, you know," Noah stutters, going back to ferociously shoving the wood into the fire, "it's not my strong point and I always get a little uncomfortable."

"Huh?" I ask, genuinely confused by his sudden ramblings.

"Well, as long as we're being honest about this kind of stuff," He stops, throwing the last bit of wood into the fire before turning to face me, "Quinn came down here earlier and Sam and I, well lets just say we played a few games, know what I'm saying, tag team and everything." Noah smirked. However his eyes were cold.

As soon as those words left his mouth I could feel a sort of rage build up inside of me and I knocked back my drink to dry and drown some of it out. I felt my throat go dry.

"So what, do you love her now?" I snapped, looking straight at Noah.

"What do you care, it aint like she's your sister or nothing." Noah stated before walking away from the fire and grabbing another beer before settling on the banking.

Sam shifted uncomfortably next to the fire refusing to look at anything other than the empty bottle in his hands. Meanwhile Finn swayed on the spot looking completely oblivious to everything that had just occurred.

* * *

After the incident with Noah I make sure to be extra careful around Brittany. It's not that I want to keep what we have a secret it's just that I don't want to loose her nor do I want to loose Noah. We decide to spend all of our time at my place or at our spot in the woodland. It's nice, being able to spend so much time with someone and never get bored. For the majority of the time it's comfortable too. When it gets too late I make sure to walk her home, round by the back road and through the alley. Again, it's late one night when she stops and turns to face me, letting our interlocked pinkies rest down by our sides. She stares straight into my eyes for a while and I can sense the confusion in her eyes before she turns her gaze to the wall behind me.

"What're you doing?" I ask, watching her intently as she stares at nothing in particular.

"I'm just staring at that wall," She murmurs, looking almost upset about something. This concerns me and I cant help but stare at her with confusion in my eyes. I smile at her encouragingly as she eventually continues. "I'm looking at that wall and I'm wondering, why won't you kiss me."

I can feel the smile instantly drop from my face and I'm honestly rendered speechless. I'd been expecting this for a while and yet I still didn't know how to explain myself. It's not that I haven't wanted to kiss her because god knows that I have, it's just that I haven't exactly explained to Brittany what went down with Noah that night and I know that if I did she would be pretty upset about it. If there's one thing I never want to see it's an upset Brittany. On the other hand I also didn't want to disrespect Noah any more than I already had. He was still my bro at the end of the day.

"I... I wont..." I stutter, shaking my head and laughing at myself slightly, "I wont kiss you, because I'm scared that if Noah asks if I've kissed you, then I'll have to say yes."

She smiles at me, one of those gentle smiles that tells me that she's not going to ask for any more information. Then suddenly she unlocks the hold I had on her pinkie and moves her hand towards her chest.

"Well, maybe you can kiss me right here" She says, gesturing towards the inside of her thumb on her now free hand.

"What," I ask, slightly amused at the idea, "Right there."

"Yeah," She nods back at me as i reach out my hand and brush my fingers over the smooth skin on the bottom of her thumb.

"Okay," I state.

I lock my eyes with hers for a short moment before lifting her hand towards my face and pressing my lips against it slowly, smiling at the feel of her skin on my lips. After a while I pull back to stare at her, a small grin taking over my features. I can almost see the cogs spinning around in her head as she stares at me before she takes me by surprise by stepping forward and cupping my face in her gentle hands. We lock eyes again and I can feel my breath hitch as I get lost in her ocean blue eyes before she surges forward and connects her lips with my own for the first time.

* * *

**Noah**

Burt had called us all into work, said he had some old trucks that needed worked on along with some admin work for Santana. It was almost as though the sun was radiating it's heat towards us on purpose to make the job even harder after all the shit we did when we were younger.

Upon arriving this morning Burt directed our attention towards an old battered down truck that was sitting out by the front of the shop. Sam and I headed out whilst Santana hung back with Burt who was thrusting old mechanics and paper work towards her. Finn made his way towards the lawnmower knowing that Burt wanted it done by the end of the days shift.

We'd been working on the truck for about an hour when Finn and Burt came over and stood beside the truck we were currently working on. Burt watched as I removed one of the parts which I assumed to be the main problem.

"How'd you know it was that one?" Finn asked, peering into the hood of the truck.

"I don't," I shrugged, concentrating on the part which was currently in my hands.

"You don't?" Finn asked again, a look of shock taking over his features.

"That's the thing, it's usually a hit and miss with this kind of truck." Sam stated, trying to explain the job to Finn. "You see," He gestured towards all of the parts inside the truck.

"It's so dark in there," Finn said, once again peering into the hood of the truck. "I don't know how you guys can even make heads or tails of it, I wouldn't even know what to start with."

"Yeah, well that's why you stick to doing the garden work, isn't it." I sneered, turning back to look into the hood of the truck myself. "Burt, why haven't you ever tried putting some mothballs in this piece of shits tank?"

"You boys think you know all the answers," Burt said shaking his head at us, "Don't you dare do anything weird to that truck."

Just as I was about to replace the old part the noise of another truck caught all of our attention. From my place at the hood of the truck we were working on I could see that it was my sister and Stacy driving up the yard.

"You guys can take you break now if you want it, no longer than 10 minutes though, I need these finished up before the end of the day."

Sam went running of to see Stacy whilst I stood by Finn and watched as my sister looked around for a moment before her eyes fell onto the main building.

"You guys fallen out?" Finn asked, watching as Brittany walked in the opposite direction.

"She didn't notice us," I state, gesturing towards the way that she was cautiously walking through the yard towards the building.

"Well aren't you going to shout her over?" Finn said as he continued to watch my sister walk further away from us.

"She'll realize and come right back," I shrug, moving to finish replacing the part in this truck.

"You never told me your sister was so friendly with San," Finn interrupts suddenly.

I follow his gaze and watch for a moment whilst the two girls interact with each other.

"She's not," I say, turning to glare at the boy.

"Well it sure doesn't look that way," Finn comments.

"Look, Brittany would have told me if she'd been speaking to San, plus, Santana knows better than to start messing up my little sister," I almost growl at him turning my attention back towards the two girls who were now standing at the door of the shop.

"Why don't you want her to have any friends?" Finn asks, turning to face me.

"It's not that I don't want her to have friends," I reply shaking my head at the boy. "It's just, not Santana, you know her as well as I do."

Finn just shrugs and accepts my response turning his own gaze back towards the two again. As if they can feel us watching they both slowly turn to face us and suddenly Santana moves away further into the shop. From my position I can still see the way that Brittany's shoulders drop in defeat as she exits the building and I make a mental note to ask her about this later.

* * *

I watch as Sam stands on the lawn and waves to Stacy until my sister truck is out of sight. It's then that Santana comes out of the shop, walking towards all of us. She stops by the truck and leans against the old tree and I walk over to join her. We stand in silence for a few minutes watching as Sam and Finn argue over the parts of the truck.

When I'm sure that the two boys are busy I turn to face Santana, notice the glassy look in her eyes. I lean closer towards her and whisper: "What was all of that about earlier."

She turns to face me, her face laced with confusion and I can tell that she doesn't understand what I'm referring too.

"You and my sister earlier," I say, staring straight into her eyes so that she's forced to make eye contact with me. "What was that?"

"Oh," she whispers, a slight smirk covering her face. "I was just telling her how you're my best friend."

I look into her eyes for a moment to see if I can spot anything that would tell me that she was lying. That's the thing. I've been close to Santana for so long now that I like to think I can tell when she's lying to me. When I'm satisfied that she's telling the truth I let out a small chuckle and grin at her, nudging her arm until she laughs along with me.

* * *

I was sat lounging on the sofa in the living area when I heard a knock at the door. It was about 11pm and knowing that mom was out working one of her late night shifts I shouted for Brittany to answer it. When I heard the door go again I sighed and made my way up of the sofa and down the hall towards the door. Eventually I reached the damn thing and swung it open to reveal Artie.

He was sat in a wheelchair and had a bandage wrapped securely around one of his wrists. His face was still bruised from the accident and I couldn't help but flinch at the sight of him.

"What do you want Abrams?" I asked, closing the door slightly behind me.

The boy looked anywhere but at me and I could see from the look on his face that he was conflicted about something.

"I just, it's just that," he shook his head then and leaned his good hand down move his wheelchair. "Never mind, I shouldn't have come."

I reach out and grab the handle on the back of the chair stopping him from moving.

"You obviously came for a reason so spit it out," I sneer, tugging the chair slightly.

"It's just, I saw you're sister about 10 minutes ago, out by 'cedes night club and, well, it's just that you know the kind of people who hang out at that area, their a bad crowd," Artie stated, looking at me for the first time since I had opened the door to him. "I guess I just thought you'd want to know."

"That's ridiculous," I scoff, glaring at the boy. "She's in her room, has been all night."

"Are you sure about that?" The boy asks, raising his eyebrow in question.

"Look, I appreciate you're concern Artie but this is my little sis we're talking about, I know that she's been in here all night."

"Ok, ok." He sighs, watching as I go to close the door on him, "But you should double check with Satan."

"What's Santana got to do with this?" I ask, stopping my movements and looking back at him.

"Well, that's who I saw her with," he states, a smirk forming on his face. "They looked pretty close too if you ask me."

"Yeah, well I didn't wheels," I sneer as I finally slam the door closed.

I wait until I'm sure that he's left and then I make my way to my sisters room, slowly opening the door. I need to check if what he's saying is true or not. Especially now that it's concerning Santana. Once the doors fully open I peer into the room and notice that it's empty. Deciding that it's best not to confront her until I hear what Santana has to say about all of this I make my way to the kitchen and down a few of the beers which mom had left in the fridge, hoping they would calm the rage I could feel forming inside of me.

* * *

We were out by the lake when Santana finally made an appearance. She had failed to appear at our nights out for a while now and I knew that she was only at this one because she felt as though she was forced to be here. I watched from my position at the fire as she sauntered over towards Sam and I.

"Where's Finn?" she asked, looking at the two of us.

"Over by that tree taking a piss," Sam said, downing the last of his bottle.

"How fucking charming," She replied, throwing some loose twigs on the ground near her into the fire.

Right on cue Finn finished and stumbled over towards us, talking animatedly to himself about some fucking cat stuck up a tree. He was clearly drunk. I could see that she was getting annoyed at the boy already. After what felt like forever of listening to Finn's rambling she interrupted.

"Why're you all so quiet?" She asked, looking pointedly at Sam and I.

"Artie uh," I began, stopping my actions at the fire and turning to face her, "said he saw you hanging out with my little sister."

almost instantly I could see the guilt appear on her face and I could feel that rage burning deep within my stomach again. I kept my gaze firmly on her and forced her to look me in the eyes.

"So, are you two hanging out?" I asked again, only firmer.

"Did he," She managed to blurt out, staring at the bottle in her hands before answering. "Well, so what if I have?"

"Well it's just, I cant talk to her about this kind of stuff, you know," I feel myself stutter, going back to ferociously shoving the wood into the fire, "it's not my strong point and I always get a little uncomfortable."

"Huh?" she asks, genuinely confused by my sudden ramblings.

"Well, as long as we're being honest about this kind of stuff," I stop, throwing the last bit of wood into the fire before turning to face her, "Quinn came down here earlier and Sam and I, well lets just say we played a few games, know what I'm saying, tag team and everything." I smirk. However I can feel the way my eyes are still glaring into hers.

As soon as those words left my mouth I can see the discomfort on her face. She keeps a cool front but her eyes give away the anger and the hurt she must be feeling. She knocks back her drink and then looks at Sam for a moment before turning to face me.

"So what, do you love her now?" She snaps, looking straight at me with cold eyes.

"What do you care, it aint like she's your sister or nothing." I state before walking away from the fire and grabbing another beer before settling on the banking.

* * *

After that I started checking up on Brittany more often, stopping her from sneaking out like she used to. It took almost two weeks before we both snapped. She was refusing to listen to anything I had to say, I'd even had Finn round to try and talk some sense into her but for some reason she was adamant that we were wrong. After Finn had left I'd stormed into her room. She was lying on her bed and I could see the fury behind her eyes mirroring my own.

"Are you stupid or just plain blind Brittany," I snapped at her.

"I'm neither one," She stated, refusing to back down. "You clearly don't know her."

"What are you talking about, I've seen her fuck every girl in this town," I sneer, picking up a small ornament she has of a ballerina on her shelf to try and refrain myself from loosing it at her. "And even some of the guys."

"That is not true!" She states confidently, turning so that she's lying on her stomach so that she can face me better.

"It is true, ask her" I reply, turning the ornament over in my hands. I can tell that she's getting uncomfortable now so I push on. "have you even asked her?"

At this she turns away from my gaze so I take this as a hint to continue.

"And then, well then she just walks away," I state, tossing the ballerina into my other hand.

"She wouldn't walk away from me," She states, turning back to look at me.

"Right, 'cause you're different," I sneer at her, tossing the ornament again.

"Noah," she sighs. "Can you put that down please?"

"What makes you so special huh? I mean what makes you so special besides the fact that you're new back in town and you don't know what kind of girl she is!" I state, raising my voice at her.

"If she's so horrible then why are you her best friend!" she yells back almost instantly.

I stand in silence for a moment running my hands over the ballerina's arms. Getting lost in the innocence the ornament displays.

"Put that down and get out!" She yells again, turning her back on me as I walk out of the room defeated. Just before I leave I watch her pick up her phone and her bag and I know that this time I've lost.

* * *

**Santana **

"No mom, just no, find somebody else to do that." I hissed at my mother, trying to hear what Brittany was saying on the other end of the phone.

"But you have such a funny face," She whined, shoving the oddly colored clown costume in my face and again interrupting whatever it was that Brittany was telling me.

"Excuse me!" I sneered, unsure of whether to be offended by her statement or not. "Just no mom!"

"Look, bubbles ate some bad meet and now she has an upset stomach, I need your help." She pleaded, taking my phone from my hand and hanging it up.

"MOM!" I shouted, reaching out for my phone.

"Just a little hand, just a couple of hours please." She tried again, grabbing one of my hands and turning me to face her properly.

"No mom, I don't even know how to do that crap." I sighed, looking anywhere but at her.

"Well, that's a shame then. Especially since Stacy's going to be there," she stated, letting go of my hand and walking away from me towards the front door.

"Fine, give me the damned costume and five minutes to get changed," I snapped.

"Oh, there's no time for that, come on, you can change when we get there!" she replied far too cheerily for my liking. Grabbing my hand and pretty much dragging me out of the door.

* * *

The hospital walls were painted a sickly green and yellow, almost as if to remind everyone of the exact reason as to why they were here in the first place. Various drawings which the kids had done during their stay lined the wall behind the reception. Stacy was sat on the foot of her bed with Sam behind her. The other kids were either situated on their own beds or standing in the middle of the room beside my mother and I.

Every couple of days my mother comes down to the hospital dressed in one of her many clown suits and puts on some form of performance for the young kids. It's the hospitals way of trying to give the poor children some fun whilst they're all undergoing various attempts at treatment. Today my mother had me dressed in a pale orange and yellow suit with a matching orange wig and the plan was too put on a small performance where we danced really silly along to a song which they all knew.

The receptionist set up the old music player that the hospital keeps on its ward and pressed play. Some overly enthusiastic kids song started playing from the device and my mother automatically launched into her dancing clown routine. With an encouraging look from Sam and a mild glare from my mother I shortly followed suit and before long we had most of the kids joining in with us to the best of their ability, all singing along to the cheesy music at the tops of their voices. Even some of the hospital staff had come into the ward and joined our small jamming session.

Seeing the smiles on all of their little faces at the end of our routine made the whole event seem worth it. My mother still had an hour to go of her shift in another of the wards but she allowed me to go and change back into my normal clothes and spend some time with Sam and Stacy.

Walking back into the ward I could hear the two voices which I automatically knew belonged to little Stacy and Sam.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sam had asked, bending down until he was level with the young girl.

Stacy swung her legs back and forth off the edge of her bed and turned to face her brother.

"Last night I had a bad dream and you weren't here with me," she whispered, small tears escaping her eyes.

"Well, I'm here now," He replied, gathering her small frame in her arms. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"I wasn't moving, or breathing," she stated in a small, shaky voice, "and I was freezing, and I could see you crying."

"Well," Sam stuttered, clearly struggling to find the right words to say to the little girl. "It's alright."

"Will you stay here with me tonight?" She asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied, nodding his head. "I'll stay."

"and you'll be my friend the whole night, right?" Stacy whispered, clutching onto Sam's frame.

"Yeah, I'll be your friend," Sam replied, his own eyes brimming with tears. "And you know, I'll always be your big brother too."

Deciding it best not to interrupt the small exchange between the two I made my way out to my mom's truck and waited for her to finish up her shift there instead.

* * *

**Quinn**

I sat on the log closest to the lake as I watched Sam light the fire in the middle. A few of us from the town had gathered by the lake in order to spend some time relaxing whilst it was still summer. We often just sat round the fire singing lame songs that we had heard recently or sharing the latest town gossip with each other. I watched as Santana and Brittany shared glances at each other across the fire, neither one listening to a word of what was being said to them.

Towards the end of the night Santana got up from her position beside Finn and went to join Sam who was down by the rivers edge. When she sat down beside the blonde boy I made my way from my own position on the log over to where Brittany was sitting on the grass now by herself. She smiled at me when I sat down beside her and I returned it with one of my own. After a few moments of silence I turned to face her.

"So, you two going out?" I asked, gesturing towards Santana's figure in the distance.

"Well, we hang out a lot." She replied, nervously twisting a strand of blonde hair in her fingers.

"You know, it can hurt pretty bad when you get caught up with the girls around here,"I stated, leaning closer to her so that only she could hear what I had just said. "Just saying."

* * *

**Santana**

I made my way over to where Sam was sitting and took up a position at his side. We sat in silence for a small moment, watching the water in the lake gently flow beneath our feet.

"How's Stacy?" I asked, turning to face him

"She's ok," He replied, never shifting to meet my gaze. "She'll be back home in a few days."

"That's really good Sam." I stated, letting out a breath which I hadn't even realized I'd been holding.

"So, this thing between you and Brittany," Sam asked, turning towards me.

"What about it?"

"Is it serious," He asked again, his tone firm.

"I think so, I mean, I really like her," I sighed, looking back out over the water. "It would just be so much more easier if Noah would give us a break."

"Yeah, well it's different when it's your family," Sam stated.

"I wouldn't know," I replied, turning back to face him again.

"What Noah sees in you is exactly what he hates in himself," Sam replied. "What did you think he was just gonna forgive you and forget about it? Tell you that it's all gonna be all right, go on right ahead, date my sister, I've seen what you've done to every other girl in town, it's fine."

"I.. I just.." I sighed, shaking my head and putting an end to the conversation.

* * *

**Quinn**

Noah arrived later that evening, moaning about how 'he shouldn't be here' and how 'he and Santana weren't friends anymore.' I grabbed him a bottle of beer and put in a few of the tablets I'd been given by one of the boys from the next town, knowing it wouldn't be long before they took effect. Right enough, it wasn't long before his mood visibly changed from moody to completely pissed off when he spotted Brittany and Santana together by the fire, hands entwined. I allowed the alcohol I'd consumed to take over my thoughts and turned to face Noah.

"You know, she's gonna fuck your sister like she fucked me and every other girl in this town." I spat at him, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "She didn't even feel anything you know, I was just another girl, and I still kept going with her, I mean, I thought I loved her. I thought she was in love with me. I guess I thought we'd wake up one day and just, be in love."

I laughed bitterly at my own confession and watched the emotions play across Noah's face. Within seconds he was standing and making his way towards Santana, screaming profanities as he went. Putting out my cigarette I followed behind him, knowing that whatever lay ahead was going to be interesting.

I watched as everyone gathered around Noah who had pulled Santana to her feet, both stumbling a little as he did so. I watched as he shoved her back roughly, screaming at her as he done so. I watched as she attacked back with just as much anger as Noah. I watched as their argument got more heated until Noah done something which shocked everyone. I watched as he lifted the near empty bottle that had been left where Santana and Brittany were sitting and swung it around until it came into contact with Santana's head at such a force that it knocked her to the ground.

I watched as Noah stood over Santana's figure which was sprawled out on the grass below him. I watched as he abused her body with his fists in what felt like slow motion, while Sam and Finn were desperately trying to pull him off the girl. I watched as Brittany worked herself into a state screaming at him to leave her alone. I watched as he spat on Santana's bruised and slightly bloody form before stumbling away with Finn right behind him. I watched as Sam and Brittany knelt down beside her, trying to assess if any damage had been done. I watched as Santana slowly opened her eyes and looked around at the group of people which had gathered before eventually coming into contact with my own.

From the look in her eyes I knew that she felt what I'd been feeling for the past year and for the first time since our breakup...

I felt like I'd accomplished something.

* * *

**A.N:** Well, that's the second installment of this story.**  
**

Hopefully it's starting to take shape now.

Again, I'd love to hear you're views or any constructive criticism.

Thanks!


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